Why the BBC TV licence should be abolished as a compulsory tax

The Martin Bashir scandal has irrevocably damaged the corporation’s reputation, and it was telling that BBC managers themselves were so reluctant to provide comment in the wake of Lord Dyson’s inquiry, even to their own programmes.

The myth of the BBC being an open, honest and objective provider of news has been damaged once again.

The myth of the BBC being the sole purveyor of quality content has been exploded by the millions turning to other providers, both on terrestrial TV and digital streaming platforms.

These twin myths have been maintained for years by the BBC spin merchants.

And as our survey results show, there is now overwhelming public support for the era of the compulsory licence fee to be brought to a close.

The BBC does some fantastic work, whether it’s the latest David Attenborough documentary or riveting drama like Line of Duty.

These shows would still be produced, with or without the compulsory BBC licence fee. Indeed, our survey also showed that there is a clear appetite for an opt-in service where people pay for the BBC services they consume.

Perhaps the real scandal is that the BBC is protected by its influence throughout the establishment. Any commercial entity would have been punished severely over issues like the Princess Diana interview by now, but not the BBC.

That is why this forced tax should be abolished.

It is undemocratic and it supports a system of mutual back scratching between the BBC, politicians, the Civil Service and regulators - and it is the means to manipulate the rest of the British TV and entertainment industry.

But most of all, the public should not be required to pay for content it does not want.

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